Friday was a good day. Alec and I woke up in Port Townsend and I went on a birthday run with Dad, from his house, down to the mill and then we ran part way back and walked the rest of the way. Then, we went out for coffee and got ingredients to make Dad waffles with real whipped cream and fresh strawberries. Al made tofu scramble and vegan pancakes for herself. Then I had to get my fishing license and we went for a very short walk on the beach before we had to head back to Seattle for the Mariner's game. At one point I had my fishing license, a jar of wild huckleberry honey, and two cartons of local eggs on the floor of Al's car and I asked her if that was okay since it was very un-vegan. She has a good sense of humor about it all. I think she is annoyed by my eating habits but I think she is making herself not say stuff. We had a really great time together, talking the whole way there and the whole way home. I miss spending time with her. I would like to see her more. We had a good time at the M's game but they lost and it was really cold for the last chunk of the game. And now Dad is officially 60 years old. He does not seem it. I would also like to see him more. And Poodle.
Molly and I started Saturday in a flurry. I lost my keys (still haven't found them) so we ended up leaving the dogs at home since I was planning on leaving them in the back of my truck while we were fishing. That made us both feel pretty guilty but we gave them fresh bones that still had the tendons attached. Sick. But, they were still going strong when we got home. Fishing was really fun. It's the first time I've intended to kill something. But, I've always wanted to learn how to fish. When I was a kid, this nice big guy that looked over my great grandma (Little Grandma) always told me he'd take me out. We never went but I spent a lot of time behind her house, squatting by the creek, watching the salmon spawn in the fall. I like the time spent fishing and I like the company of family and the idea of one act getting one meal taken care of. It seems like food is so complicated now. Lots of our food has dozens of ingredients, from dozens of different places, moved all around the world and eventually packaged into some type of calories that can spend years on a shelf. That seems more harmful than the killing of one creature that's spent it's life free. I caught a fish after Eric cast my line for me. It landed right near a raft, probably a good spot for some fish. The first bite was so exciting. But, Eric was distracted helping Isabella (she's three) reel her first fish in. Kevin ended up helping me get the hook out of his stomach. It was grossing me out but I didn't want to look like a puss in front of everyone and I knew that fish was done for since he'd pretty much swallowed the hook. He was a big guy, a holdover from last year. Eric keeps the fish on a creel until he's ready to bring them up to the cabin to clean. Most of them were still alive so I had this nagging guilt knowing my fish was on a gill leash until he'd be sliced open. And, then, of course, I caught another one. At that time Eric was out in the rowboat, taking Isabella around the lake. So Diana tried to get the hook out with that tool. She felt too bad. I tried but couldn't be rough enough to get the job done. So, Molly manned up and got it done. Then we stuck him on the creel and I called it a day. I did pull a dead trout off the bottom of the lake. He looked like he had died very recently, eyes were still clear and he wasn't stiff yet. So, I stuck him on his own creel because I felt bad dropping him next to the couple trout that were still alive. When Eric finally gutted them he didn't stun them first. I think I'll do that the next time I fish. I think a toy baseball bat would work well. It was a good day though. We ate Subway on the way home. Molly dipped while I was talking to my dad on the phone and almost puked. Then we planned the chicken coop, let the chickens and the dogs run around the yard, and then came in and watched Juno.
Now, it's today. We have a big day ahead of us. We need to rotate the coop, put a back and a floor on, put the windows in and the roof on. Then, we need to put up the run. We'll see how it all turns out but I think it will look nice when we're all wrapped up. I'll try and take a picture to post since I never do that sort of thing.
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